This document provides guidance for the selection, design, and installation of FRP systems for externally strengthening concrete structures. Information on material properties, design, installation, quality control, and maintenance of FRP systems used as external reinforcement is presented. This information can be used to select an FRP system for increasing the strength, stiffness, or both, of reinforced concrete beams or the ductility of columns and other applications. 

A significant body of research serves as the basis for this guide. This research, conducted since the 1980s, includes analytical studies, experimental work, and monitored field applications of FRP strengthening systems. Based on the available research, the design procedures outlined herein are considered conservative. 

The durability and long-term performance of FRP materials has been the subject of much research; however, this research remains ongoing. The design guidelines in this guide account for environmental degradation and long-term durability by providing reduction factors for various environments. Long-term fatigue and creep are also addressed by stress limitations indicated in this document. These factors and limitations are considered conservative. As more research becomes available, however, these factors may be modified, and the specific environmental conditions and loading conditions to which they should apply will be better defined. Additionally, the coupling effect of environmental conditions and loading conditions requires further study. Caution is advised in applications where the FRP system is subjected simultaneously to extreme environmental and stress conditions. The factors associated with the long-term durability of the FRP system may also affect the tensile modulus of elasticity of the material used for design. 

Many issues regarding bond of the FRP system to the substrate remain the focus of a great deal of research. For both flexural and shear strengthening, there are many different modes of debonding failure that can govern the strength of an FRP-strengthened member. While most of the debonding modes have been identified by researchers, more accurate methods of predicting debonding are still needed. Throughout the design procedures, significant limitations on the strain achieved in the FRP material (and thus, the stress achieved) are imposed to conservatively account for debonding failure modes. Future development of these design procedures should include more thorough methods of predicting debonding. 

This document gives guidance on proper detailing and installation of FRP systems to prevent many types of debonding failure modes. Steps related to the surface preparation and proper termination of the FRP system are vital in achieving the levels of strength predicted by the procedures in this document. Research has been conducted on various methods of anchoring FRP strengthening systems, such as U-wraps, mechanical fasteners, fiber anchors, and U-anchors. Because no anchorage design guidelines are currently available, the performance of any anchorage system should be substantiated through representative physical testing that includes the specific anchorage system, installation procedure, surface preparation, and expected environmental conditions. 

The design equations given in this document are the result of research primarily conducted on moderately sized and proportioned members fabricated of normalweight concrete. Caution should be given to applications involving strengthening of very large or lightweight concrete members or strengthening in disturbed regions (D-regions) of structural members such as deep beams, corbels, and dapped beam ends. When warranted, specific limitations on the size of members and the state of stress are given herein. 

This guide applies only to FRP strengthening systems used as additional tensile reinforcement. These systems should not be used as compressive reinforcement. While FRP materials can support compressive stresses, there are numerous issues surrounding the use of FRP for compression. Microbuckling of fibers can occur if any resin voids are present in the laminate. Laminates themselves can buckle if not properly adhered or anchored to the substrate, and highly unreliable compressive strengths result from misaligning fibers in the field. This document does not address the construction, quality control, and maintenance issues that would be involved with the use of the material for this purpose, nor does it address the design concerns surrounding such applications.